Twitter dropped its policies about COVID-19 misinformation last week, but no one noticed until now.
According to an update note posted on Twitter&#8217;s <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog</a> and &#8220;<a href="https://transparency.twitter.com/en/reports/covid19.html#2021-jul-dec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transparency report</a>,&#8221; as of November 23, the platform is no longer enforcing policies it used to combat &#8220;misleading information&#8221; during the COVID pandemic. But there was no formal announcement of a policy change; news broke Tuesday when several conservative users posted screenshots of the updated policy. The policy change is the latest move in Elon Musk&#8217;s effort to reform Twitter into a &#8220;free speech&#8221; platform.
&#8220;Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy,&#8221; the note reads.
Conservatives shared screenshots of the updated policy Tuesday, and celebrated the change by posting facts about COVID-19 that were once deemed &#8220;misinformation&#8221; by Twitter.
&#8220;Finally. The truth is that almost everything @twitter labeled as covid misinformation ended up being true,&#8221; Outkick founder Clay Travis commented on a screenshot of the policy note.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Finally. The truth is that almost everything <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@twitter</a> labeled as covid misinformation ended up being true. <a href="https://t.co/8VxeZgbHgv">pic.twitter.com/8VxeZgbHgv</a>
&mdash; Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1597596414561095681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;@elonmusk has officially put an end to Twitter&#8217;s medical censorship 👏,&#8221; technology researcher <a href="https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1597536315423457281?s=20&amp;t=TxR1ROWo6Uo8rF4sG9tl8w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Eli David</a> applauded.
&#8220;Jeez, now when the Biden Administration and CNN share Covid misinformation we’ll have no idea!&#8221; Rubin Report host <a href="https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1597574030256930817?s=20&amp;t=F6_qBW60shbXpdpI60V1dQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dave Rubin</a> joked.
&#8220;[S]poiler: there was never Covid misinformation, just information Twitter agreed to censor,&#8221; Grabien founder <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1597593676703846400?s=20&amp;t=UeepoQqiCU8HYr2bBX462w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Elliott</a> wrote.
&#8220;Now that Twitter stopped enforcing its COVID &#8216;misinformation&#8217; policies, I can finally tell you that the vaccine doesn&#8217;t work, masks are useless, &amp; the lockdowns did more harm than good,&#8221; conservative podcast host <a href="https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/1597687514848190464?s=20&amp;t=ca8H21OD2DWbG9o16lcUwQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steven Crowder</a> commented. &#8220;Thank you for coming to my TED talk.&#8221;
&#8220;Now, that Twitter ended &#8216;Covid misinformation&#8217; policies, let&#8217;s review the Experts™ misinformation,&#8221; journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/kylenabecker/status/1597612519686041601?s=20&amp;t=za51WHrk5K0uAwpqeV1GHQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyle Becker</a> tweeted. &#8220;1. 15 days to slow the spread 2. Masks work 3. Lockdowns work 4. Natural immunity is a myth 5. mRNA shots are vaccines 6. Covid shots stop transmission 7. &#8216;100% safe &amp; effective.'&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/tech/twitter-covid-misinformation-policy/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>, between January 2020 and September 2022, the platform suspended more than 11,000 accounts and took down more than 100,000 individual posts for violating the misinformation policy. Notable users suspended included Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, journalist Alex Berenson, mRNA vaccine researcher Dr. Robert Malone, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCollough, and former San Francisco Giants player Aubrey Huff.
The day after Twitter announced the policy change, CEO Elon Musk announced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-announces-blanket-amnesty-for-suspended-users" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blanket amnesty</a> for users suspended from the platform. On November 23, Musk tweeted a poll asking whether or not to unban users that had been permanently suspended. “Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?” he wrote.
More than three million users voted in the poll, and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of amnesty; nearly three-quarters of voters, 72.4%, voted “yes,” while just 27.6% voted “no.”
“The people have spoken,” Musk wrote after the poll concluded. “Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”
As of this week, Twitter has begun the process of reinstating some 62,000 accounts with more than 10,000 followers to platform, the <a href="https://www.platformer.news/p/why-some-tech-ceos-are-rooting-for" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Platformer</a> newsletter reported. The identities of users were not available, but the list included one account with more than 5 million followers and 75 accounts with more than 1 million.

In this photo illustration, a woman’s silhouette holds a

Twitter Dropped Its COVID ‘Misinformation’ Policy, But No One Noticed Until Now

Twitter Dropped Its COVID 'Misinformation' Policy, But No One Noticed Until Now

Big Tech

COVID-19

Elon Musk

Misinformation

Social Media Censorship

Twitter

U.S.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) released a statement condemning the Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s COVID policies &#8212; and the White House&#8217;s weak response.
The Texas lawmaker, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement Monday after reports of the Biden administration&#8217;s tepid words regarding the unrest in China over its strict lockdown policies.
“The Chinese Communist Party has since the beginning been desperate to cover up the origins, nature, and consequences of COVID-19. They lied and continue to lie to the world, and as a result millions of lives were lost and immense suffering was caused,&#8221; Cruz <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-issues-statement-on-ccp-crackdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
&#8220;The people of China are not to blame for the CCP&#8217;s actions. In fact, many of them were already protesting the CCP’s handling of the pandemic, and now those protests have escalated into open criticism of the regime. They are bravely standing up for their rights,&#8221; he continued.
The senator went on to lash out at the Biden administration over its failure to show strong support for the protesters speaking out against the oppressive CCP. The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-releases-tepid-statement-on-protests-in-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the White House released a statement on Monday that focused on the difficulty of a “zero COVID” approach rather than offering support to back the freedoms of the Chinese people.
“The Biden administration’s response has been worse than expected. The CCP should know that one way or another, in the coming months or in the coming years, the United States will hold accountable each and every CCP official responsible for atrocities against these protesters.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), another Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also released a <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Press-Releases&amp;id=8F83E260-9D38-4BEE-AF33-2325C1CDADAE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> with Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) on Monday to address China&#8217;s actions.
“The CCP’s ‘zero-Covid’ policy is outrageous. In addition, the CCP restricts all human rights and freedoms in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and across China. It has robbed the Chinese people of their human dignity,&#8221; Rubio and Smith wrote.
“The Biden Administration&#8217;s weak rejection of the CCP’s zero-Covid policy and refusal to call out General Secretary Xi’s totalitarian grip is nothing short of cowardly. Just weeks after shaking hands with Xi in Bali, President Biden and his administration have once again demonstrated that they are unwilling to stand up to the CCP and stand in solidarity with the Chinese people,&#8221; they added.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and other Democrats on the committee have remained relatively silent regarding the recent Chinese protests.
None of the Democrats on the committee have released a statement regarding China&#8217;s lockdown abuses since a high-rise fire last Thursday that killed 10 Chinese residents that many have blamed on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protesters-call-for-xi-jinping-to-step-down-over-chinas-extreme-covid-lockdowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID restrictions</a>.

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz Unloads On White House Over Biden Admin’s Weak China Statement

China

Communist China

COVID

Protest

Protests

World

Xi Jinping

Daily Wire Investigative Reporter Luke Rosiak appeared on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fox-news">‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’</a> Monday evening to share a story he broke for the Daily Wire about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jetblue-wont-hire-the-unvaxxed-but-hired-violent-felon-to-fly-planes">bizarre hiring practices at JetBlue</a>.
The show began by assessing the widespread mass protests across China against the regime of Xi Jinping and his repressive ‘Zero COVID’ policies, which appear to be the largest internal outcry against the Chinese Communist Party in decades. The program also condemned several U.S. public officials and various corporate entities and prominent citizens, such as John Kirby of the National Security Council, the NBA and reporter Taylor Lorenz.
Carlson claimed that greed or complicity had caused them to stay silent on China’s crackdown against its own citizens, noting that some of them had advocated for the kind of COVID policy that Xi had put into practice and a few had even praised the authoritarian regime for its approach to the pandemic.
Carlson later brought on Rosiak to discuss the case of John Perrys, a convicted felon and reported employee of JetBlue who in 2005 broke into a judge’s home and assaulted his daughter as she came out of the shower. Perrys was released in 2014 and according to the <a href="http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&amp;DCNumber=A50372&amp;TypeSearch=AO">Florida Department of Corrections</a>, he will be on felony probation until 2044.
Perrys&#8217; hiring has caused controversy because his employer is unwilling to hire pilots who have not been vaccinated against COVID in the name of ‘safety.’
“Apparently JetBlue won’t hire unvaccinated pilots, but they will hire violent convicted felons to fly their airplanes,” one pilot said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Roughly a year ago JetBlue implemented a company-wide vaccine mandate, arguing in public that as a federal contractor they were required to do so by a Biden Administration rule. The relevant rule, however, has been delayed, then blocked by an injunction which was only lifted last month, and even now is <a href="https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/">not actively being enforced</a>.
Rosiak and Carlson both lambasted the mandate and characterized it as incoherent and counter productive, since new data indicates that a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-vaccinated-now-make-up-majority-of-covid-deaths">majority of people currently dying from COVID-19 are vaccinated.</a>
“They won’t hire you if you haven&#8217;t had the vaxx, but they did hire John Perrys,” Rosiak noted, “And interestingly enough, I thought you would get a kick out of this, the crime he was convicted of was assault with a deadly weapon while wearing a mask.”

2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards

‘Is This A Real Story?’: Tucker Carlson Flabbergasted By JetBlue’s Felon Pilot

Tucker Carlson Flabbergasted By JetBlue's Felon Pilot

Airlines

JetBlue

Tucker Carlson

Vaccine Mandate

Search results of current widespread protests opposing oppressive COVID lockdown measures in major cities across <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china">China</a> were drowned out last weekend by Chinese bots advertising pornography, escort services, and gambling.
Air-Moving Device, a Twitter account analyzing China through data graphs, showed charts indicating footage of widespread protests in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities were nearly hidden from Chinese citizens to access information about the mass demonstrations.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thread: Search for Beijing/Shanghai/other cities in Chinese on Twitter and you&#39;ll mostly see ads for escorts/porn/gambling, drowning out legitimate search results. Data analysis in this thread suggests that there has been a *significant* uptick in these spam tweets. <a href="https://t.co/Ao46g2ILzf">pic.twitter.com/Ao46g2ILzf</a>
&mdash; Air-Moving Device (@AirMovingDevice) <a href="https://twitter.com/AirMovingDevice/status/1597034969293271040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Data analysis in this thread suggests that there has been a significant uptick in these spam tweets,&#8221; the outlet said, sharing data retweeted by Stanford Internet Observatory.
Chinese citizens flooded the streets after the Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s &#8220;Zero COVID&#8221; policy prevented firefighters from rescuing residents locked inside a burning apartment building in Urumqi, leaving at least ten people dead.
The growing conflict between the government and the Chinese people has accelerated in recent weeks after some cities and provinces endured more than 100 days of severe lockdowns of China&#8217;s &#8220;Zero COVID&#8221; policy, despite just 38,000 people testing positive for the coronavirus among a population of over 1.4 billion.
Chinese Communist Party authorities have fenced in residents across the country with limited opportunities to travel while other provinces have implemented such lockdowns for more than three straight months as the nation&#8217;s pandemic policies extend into its third year, sparking citizen&#8217;s demands for Communist Party authoritarians to resign.
Mengyu Dong, a student data journalist at Stanford University, shared images of some ads, saying some of the accounts &#8220;have been dormant for years, only to become active … after protests broke out in China.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Chinese bots are flooding Twitter with *escort ads*, possibly to make it more difficult for Chinese users to access information about the mass protests. Some of these acts have been dormant for years, only to become active yesterday after protests broke out in China. for example: <a href="https://t.co/QRYLQu09Pq">pic.twitter.com/QRYLQu09Pq</a>
&mdash; Mengyu Dong (@dong_mengyu) <a href="https://twitter.com/dong_mengyu/status/1596749168462401536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a series of tweets, Dong showed various inactive accounts created as far back as 2015, flooding the social media platform with thousands of tweets within 24 hours.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/27/twitter-china-spam-protests/">reports</a> that an anonymous U.S. government contractor and China expert said search results showed 50% porn and 50% protests while scrolling for news and images of the protests.
&#8220;Once I got three-to-four scrolls into the feed,&#8221; it was &#8220;all porn,&#8221; the contractor said.
A former Twitter employee told The Washington Post the platform has used suspected government-connected accounts have used similar techniques in the past.
&#8220;This is a known problem that our team was dealing with manually, aside from automations we put in place,&#8221; said the anonymous former employee.
The employee added the mass tweet campaign &#8220;was another exhibit where there are now even larger holes to fill&#8221; after the &#8220;China influence operations and analysts at Twitter all resigned.&#8221;
A current anonymous Twitter employee told an outside researcher that the company was aware of the problem.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk said that the platform experienced slight service &#8220;degradation&#8221; on Sunday from an old 3rd party tool used to block accounts with no rate limit, which some users believe may have contributed to the issue.
&#8220;Should be fixed now,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Twitter experienced slight degradation of service today from an old 3rd party tool used to block accounts that had no rate limit (sigh). Should be fixed now.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597032623020249088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-10/apple-limits-iphone-file-sharing-tool-used-for-protests-in-china">reports</a> Apple Inc. allegedly limited it&#8217;s AirDrop wireless file-sharing feature on iPhones in China to prevent protestors sending documents, images, and videos in their latest iOS version released last week, which caps non-contacts from receiving files at 10 minutes.
Dillon Burroughs contributed to this report.

China Covid Unrest Boils Over as Citizens Defy Lockdown Efforts

Pornography, Escort Service Advertisement Bots Flood Twitter Feeds Preventing Chinese Citizens From Accessing COVID Protest News

Chinese Communist Party

Social Media

Chinese police arrested a journalist for the BBC who was covering the massive protests that were breaking out across the country in responses to the communist nation&#8217;s draconian coronavirus lockdown measures.
The protests <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent">reportedly</a> began on Thursday after ten people were killed in a fire at a residential high-rise building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang autonomous region. Videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/asia/china-protests-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a> and Reuters reported. Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters added.
Outside Shanghai, major cities and college campuses were also the scenes of major protests. Reuters reported that demonstrations broke out in the cities of Wuhan, Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Beijing on Sunday. Protests in Wuhan reportedly turned violent, with demonstrators smashing through metal barricades, overturning testing tents, and demanding an end to lockdowns. The New York Times reported another protest in the city of Korla in northern Xinjiang.
Journalist Edward Lawrence, who has since been released, was seen being roughed up by the Chinese police in videos that went viral on social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Shanghai, BBC reporter Edward Lawrence was randomly arrested by Chinese police.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGreatTranslationMovement?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGreatTranslationMovement</a> <a href="https://t.co/PMq8rHszlm">pic.twitter.com/PMq8rHszlm</a>
&mdash; The Great Translation Movement 大翻译运动官方推号 (@TGTM_Official) <a href="https://twitter.com/TGTM_Official/status/1596987324822622208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The BBC released a statement saying that it was &#8220;extremely concerned&#8221; about the deteriorating situation in China and how the nation&#8217;s authorities were treating reporters.
&#8220;The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,&#8221; the publication said. &#8220;He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist.&#8221;
&#8220;It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd. We do not consider this a credible explanation.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A statement from the BBC on what happened to me in Shanghai last night while doing my job. 
I understand at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me. 
Thanks very much for the kind words and messages of concern. <a href="https://t.co/weoDAMakvO">https://t.co/weoDAMakvO</a>
&mdash; Edward Lawrence (@EP_Lawrence) <a href="https://twitter.com/EP_Lawrence/status/1597072695337766912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lawrence posted another video since the incident where he showed police were forcing people to show authorities their phones and then were forcing those people to delete photos and videos from the protests.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
People being forced to delete photos by the police today at the of the last two days of protests <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shanghai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shanghai</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/china?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#china</a> <a href="https://t.co/VS1kFSoh3x">pic.twitter.com/VS1kFSoh3x</a>
&mdash; Edward Lawrence (@EP_Lawrence) <a href="https://twitter.com/EP_Lawrence/status/1597160110518067201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
John Rigolizzo contributed to this report.

BBC Journalist ‘Beaten And Kicked’ By Communist China’s Police

Lockdowns

Media

Downtown San Francisco restaurants and have been hit so hard by the COVID pandemic and its aftermath, where people work remotely instead of traveling to the city, that restaurants are crying out to the local government to subsidize them.
Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, suggested that the city subsidize restaurants for as long as 12 to 18 months to keep them solvent.
“It’s dealing with the operating expenses for a certain period of time, so they don’t have to make money for that period,” she  asserted to the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/A-shuttered-pizza-restaurant-demonstrates-17614635.php?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=briefing&amp;utm_campaign=sfc_baybriefing_am&amp;sid=54dd212c3b35d005218bb6e2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco Chronicle</a>. “And then maybe you’re going to incentivize some people to come in and take a chance” to open a business.
“I know this is expensive, don’t get me wrong. I don’t know where we get the money,” she added.
The city has already doled out over $83 million to small business, whether by grant, loan or a tax break.
“There are bigger economic forces at play that are keeping people from our core and downtown than the lack of restaurants — one of them being the lack of foot traffic because of hybrid work schedules,” Gloria Chan, spokesperson for the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, stated. “Subsidies going directly to property owners for new restaurants is a massive financial undertaking and likely not feasible without federal or state funding in addition to requiring significant resources and investments from the businesses themselves.”
Thomas cited the 2011 tax break that enticed Twitter and other tech companies to move to the area.
The list of restaurants closing in the Bay Area in October <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/mikkeller-restaurant-closures-17547688.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> the Mikkeller Bar in the Tenderloin area, Padrecito, the Soon and Soon Souvenir Shop, Fatted Calf, Bonchon, Holder’s House, Hotline, the Berkeley Bagel Street Café, Augie’s Montreal Deli, Pastis, Broken Record, Campo Fina, A Taste of Denmark, Tribune Tribune, Café Lane 33, and the Kebabery.
In September, the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/september-restaurant-closures-17473667.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">list included</a> Maru Ichi, Seven Stills, El Charro 1947, Chica, The Grove, Alchemy Collective, Zazzi Foods, Smitten Ice Cream, Big 4, Roosevelt Tamale Parlor, Double Play Bar &amp; Grill, and the Sesame Tiny Bakery.
“A lot of us hoped that the return to office would happen, but it didn’t. So we can’t just kind of hope, now, that these areas just organically create themselves,” Thomas concluded.

Close-Up Of Information Sign Outdoors

San Francisco Restaurants Closing In Droves. Restaurant Assn. Wants City To Subsidize Them.

San Francisco Restaurants Closing In Droves. They Want City To Subsidize Them.

Food

restaurants

San Francisco

The White House released a statement on Monday regarding China&#8217;s strict COVID lockdown policies, offering a tepid response following several days of protests across the communist nation.
Instead of offering support to back the freedoms of the Chinese people, the Biden administration focused on the difficulty of a &#8220;zero COVID&#8221; approach.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve said that zero COVID is not a policy we are pursuing here in the United States. And as we&#8217;ve said, we think it&#8217;s going to be very difficult for the People&#8217;s Republic of China to be able to contain this virus through their zero-COVID strategy,&#8221; a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New White House statement on the protests in China: “We’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world. This includes in the PRC,” a National Security Council spokesperson says. 
Full statement: <a href="https://t.co/4yOBcb8PKL">pic.twitter.com/4yOBcb8PKL</a>
&mdash; Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) <a href="https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1597213792487997441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The statement also focused on what the U.S. is doing rather than criticizing China&#8217;s government.
&#8220;For us, we are focused on what works and that means using public health tools like: continuing to enhance vaccination rates, including boosters and making testing and treatment easily accessible,&#8221; the statement added. &#8220;We’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world. This includes in the PRC.&#8221;
Protests emerged across China on Thursday after 10 people died in a fire at a residential building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang autonomous region, that was under lockdown. The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths.
Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-hit-by-covid-protests-anger-spreads-across-china-2022-11-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The peaceful protests have led to increased security in Shanghai and Beijing, the outlet reported on Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping has continued to push for strong lockdown efforts to eradicate the virus despite the calls for freedom.
The pushback by China&#8217;s citizens against lockdowns reaches back far earlier than last week&#8217;s deadly fire.
&#8220;Over the last two years, Mr. Xi backed himself into a corner by owning the zero-COVID policy. The most rational way for him to handle the situation if protests continue to grow is to pressure local authorities to crack down hard while distancing himself,&#8221; Ho-fung Hung, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/xi-jinping-step-down-china-deadly-fire-protests-zero-covid-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;But then there is a risk that local authorities might refuse to follow the directive closely as they are worn down by the zero-Covid rigidities.&#8221;
Despite the Biden administration&#8217;s response, a growing number of conservative voices are speaking out over China&#8217;s severe limitations against freedom.
&#8220;China has had enough of the COVID tyranny,&#8221; Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs tweeted on Monday. &#8220;These types of draconian lockdowns are ineffective and crumble societies.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
China has had enough of the COVID tyranny. 
These types of draconian lockdowns are ineffective and crumble societies.
&mdash; Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAndyBiggsAZ/status/1597247548607324160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn also blasted the ruling Chinese Communist Party over its harsh treatment of both citizens and media.
&#8220;Authoritarian regimes like the CCP arrest and harass journalists in an attempt to rewrite the truth,&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1597081826572791808" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> on Sunday.

China COVID protests

White House Releases Tepid Statement On Protests In China

White House Releases Guarded Statement On Protests In China

Biden Administration

Executive

Politics

China&#8217;s oppressive COVID lockdown measures continue to fuel protests as news of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-world-reacts-to-chinese-dictator-xi-jinping-purging-former-leader-on-camera-chilling-and-orwellian/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Xi Jinping</a>&#8216;s extreme approach shocks the world.
The growing conflict between the government and the Chinese people has accelerated in recent weeks. Some cities have endured more than 100 days of entire cities under severe lockdowns, despite just <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=china+covid+numbers&amp;oq=china+covid+numbers&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512j0i22i30.6017j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">38,000 people</a> testing positive for the coronavirus among a population of over 1.4 billion.
Residents of major cities across China have been fenced in with limited opportunities to travel. Some provinces have implemented such lockdowns for more than three straight months as the pandemic extends into its third year in the Chinese Communist Party-controlled country.
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In Guangzhou, the current epicentre of China’s Covid surge, large parts of Haizhu district are still locked down.
In one area we were able to walk right up to the barrier. 
This is not like the Shanghai lockdown, people are allowed out to buy food, but many are weary <a href="https://t.co/Leo1l3EhdP">pic.twitter.com/Leo1l3EhdP</a>
&mdash; Helen-Ann Smith (@HelenAnnSmith0) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelenAnnSmith0/status/1594706336532643844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Recent measures include roadblocks, mall closures, schools returning to online learning, and park shutdowns.
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This Is What China’s Renewed War on Covid Looks Like<a href="https://t.co/KqONnb0JQu">https://t.co/KqONnb0JQu</a>
現在、中国でのCOVID-19感染者拡大に伴い実施されている対策は、パンデミック初年に各国で見られた風景に似ている <a href="https://t.co/znWngmlPeM">pic.twitter.com/znWngmlPeM</a>
&mdash; Mugen UJIIE (氏家 無限) (@carpe_diem0820) <a href="https://twitter.com/carpe_diem0820/status/1595553846046388224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The lockdown policies have included forced vaccinations, masking, and mandatory COVID testing to travel outside restricted areas. Bars and many restaurants have also been closed or prohibited indoor dining, with claims of patients in need of medical treatment being denied.
Lockdown-breakers have been arrested, while government censorship blocks those speaking out against the government&#8217;s oppressive rules.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/world/asia/china-zero-covid-policy-videos.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Article&amp;state=default&amp;module=styln-china-zero-covid&amp;variant=show&amp;region=BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT&amp;block=storyline_flex_guide_recirc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last week that family members had been separated over COVID, including children removed from their parents. One boarding school would not allow students to leave campus due to a reported COVID outbreak.
The nation is also reportedly building &#8220;quarantine centers,&#8221; including one currently under construction that will reportedly house up to 80,000 people.
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For the second day in a row, China has recorded an explosive increase in coronavirus infections.
In the city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, which has the largest number of cases, the construction of a quarantine center for 80,000 people has begun. <a href="https://t.co/LnOZdVdVjO">pic.twitter.com/LnOZdVdVjO</a>
&mdash; NEXTA (@nexta_tv) <a href="https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1596060739282010113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Earlier this month, The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-social-media-beijing-94dee24454984179f79b493cf0589d62" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the city of Guangzhou announced plans to build quarantine facilities for nearly 250,000 people.
The restrictions are also widespread, impacting around 340 million people across 37 cities in China, approximately a quarter of the population, according to the Times. Strict mitigation policies sparked protests after a fire in a Urumqi high-rise building killed ten people last week, with residents blaming the lockdown for the deaths.
A Saturday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demonstration</a> in Shanghai over the deaths led to police deploying pepper spray into a crowd of about 300 protesters. A witness <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-health-china-fires-covid-4ffc00e5f6761be48f5887d57d66c708" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Associated Press that one of his friends was beaten, and two others were pepper sprayed. He added that police stepped on his feet while he tried to prevent them from taking his friend away; he also lost his shoes in the chaos and was left barefoot.
China&#8217;s tyranny against its people also holds significant consequences for the U.S. and other nations. The supply chain shortage that arose in early 2021 could soon return as factories and other export businesses shutter across the country.
Despite President Xi Jinping winning a third term in October, a significant number of Chinese citizens are calling for the leader to step down, demanding his resignation over his restrictions on freedom during the pandemic.

China protest

Protesters Call For Xi Jinping To Step Down Over China’s Extreme COVID Lockdowns

Protesters Call For Xi Jinping To Step Down Over China's Extreme COVID Lockdowns 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, repeatedly defended communist China during two interviews Sunday morning.
Fauci gave the defenses of China when he was asked about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which many experts believe occurred during an accident at a lab in Wuhan.
Fauci claimed during an interview with CBS News&#8217; Margaret Brennan on &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; that China often &#8220;acts secretive&#8221; even &#8220;when there&#8217;s nothing at all to hide.&#8221; Fauci pointed to the SARS-CoV-1 outbreak in the early 2000s as an example.
However, a 2003 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/21/world/the-sars-epidemic-epidemic-china-admits-underreporting-its-sars-cases.html">report</a> from The New York Times highlighted that China later admitted to underreporting cases of the disease and that the actual number of cases was &#8220;many times higher than previously reported.&#8221;
Brennan then mentioned how a recent op-ed from The Washington Post editorial board said that &#8220;the cover-up is immense and still in place&#8221; and that China needed to allow a new investigation into the pandemic&#8217;s origins.
&#8220;Do you agree with that word cover-up?&#8221; Brennan asked. &#8220;And intentional distortion?&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what that means,&#8221; Fauci responded. &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure what they&#8217;re talking about. I mean, if cover-up is not allowing people to come in and look at all the data, that&#8217;s not a cover, that&#8217;s not being transparent.&#8221;
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Anthony Fauci is asked if he agrees with using the words &quot;cover-up&quot; and &quot;intentional distortion&quot; to describe China&#39;s role in COVID.
FAUCI: &quot;I don&#39;t know what that means, no.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/NbJnIG1AuC">pic.twitter.com/NbJnIG1AuC</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1596913449262616577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Fauci then defended China for not turning over its primary data from the pandemic by blaming the Trump administration.
&#8220;They can say, oh, you know, it&#8217;s in frozen food, or it&#8217;s in this or it&#8217;s in that. But there&#8217;s no primary data,&#8221; Fauci said. &#8220;The [World Health Organization] went in and saw some of the data, which some of which was actually quite helpful. But we- you know what we need, Margaret, we need a transparency and a collaboration to open things up so that we can discuss it in a non-accusatory way.&#8221;
&#8220;What happens is that if you look at the anti-China approach, that clearly the Trump administration had right from the very beginning, and the accusatory nature, the Chinese are going to flinch back and say, &#8216;Oh, I&#8217;m sorry, we&#8217;re not going to talk to you about it,&#8217; which is not correct,&#8221; Fauci continued. &#8220;They should be.&#8221;
When Brennan mentioned that China is still not cooperating with U.S. officials, Fauci defended the Biden administration by saying that the &#8220;horse is out of the barn.&#8221;
During an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; Fauci again defended China over accusations that the communist nation is covering up the pandemic&#8217;s origins.
&#8220;Now there would be one theory as to why is the Chinese government acting so peculiar and weird, and they still have not come clean on what they can tell us about the start of this pandemic, have they?&#8221; Todd asked.
&#8220;Yeah. Yeah. That is true,&#8221; Fauci answered. &#8220;And that is, in some respects, and I don&#8217;t mean this in a broad pejorative way, but in anything that we&#8217;ve had to do over decades, whether it&#8217;s bird flu, H5N1, H7N9, or the original SARS in 2002, even when there&#8217;s nothing to hide they act in a suspicious, non-transparent way just probably because they don&#8217;t want to make it look like there&#8217;s a blame. When the reality is, if something evolves in your country, it’s not to blame but let&#8217;s find out what went on so we can be transparent about it and prevent it for the next time happening.&#8221;
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&quot;Why is the Chinese government acting so peculiar and weird?&quot;
ANTHONY FAUCI: &quot;I don&#39;t mean this in a broad, pejorative way, but&#8230;even when there&#39;s nothing to hide, they act in a suspicious, non-transparent way.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/1zRRNUCWPf">pic.twitter.com/1zRRNUCWPf</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1596876296914468865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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2022 Portrait Of A Nation Gala

Dr. Anthony Fauci Repeatedly Defends Communist China From COVID Cover-Up Accusations

Anthony Fauci

Fauci

Pandemic

Chinese citizens are protesting the communist nation&#8217;s strict COVID policies, with at least one demonstration turning violent.
Protests intensified over the weekend in major cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan. According to media reports, a demonstration in Shanghai eventually devolved into chaos, with police clashing with protesters and deploying pepper spray. The protests emerged as a response to the &#8220;zero COVID&#8221; policies imposed by the Chinese Communist Party government since the beginning of the pandemic.
&#8220;I’m here because I love my country, but I don’t love my government &#8230; I want to be able to go out freely, but I can’t. Our COVID-19 policy is a game and is not based on science or reality,&#8221; one protester in Shanghai told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-hit-by-covid-protests-anger-spreads-across-china-2022-11-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>.
The protests reportedly began on Thursday after ten people were killed in a fire at a residential high-rise building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang autonomous region. Videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/asia/china-protests-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a> and Reuters reported. Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters added.
&#8220;We just want our basic human rights. We can’t leave our homes without getting a test. It was the accident in Xinjiang that pushed people too far,&#8221; another protester told Reuters.
According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-health-china-fires-covid-4ffc00e5f6761be48f5887d57d66c708" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> and Reuters, protesters gathered at Wulumuqi Road in Shanghai on Saturday, which is named after Urumqi, to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of the fire. Around 100 police officers stood by to reportedly keep demonstrators from gathering.
At some point during the night, police deployed pepper spray into a crowd of about 300 protesters. The witness told the AP that one of his friends was beaten, and two others were pepper sprayed. He added that police stepped on his feet while he tried to prevent them from taking his friend away; he also lost his shoes in the chaos and was left barefoot.
Outside Shanghai, major cities and college campuses were also the scenes of major protests. Reuters reported that demonstrations broke out in the cities of Wuhan, Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Beijing on Sunday. Protests in Wuhan reportedly turned violent, with demonstrators smashing through metal barricades, overturning testing tents, and demanding an end to lockdowns. The New York Times reported another protest in the city of Korla in northern Xinjiang.
Meanwhile, a peaceful protest reportedly took place in memory of the Urumqi victims on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing, the alma mater of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Protests were also reported at the Communication University of China in Nanjing, Peking University in Beijing, and the Wuhan University of Technology.
In several cases, protesters reportedly took aim directly at Xi. &#8220;Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping,&#8221; protesters reportedly shouted at the Saturday demonstration in Shanghai, per Reuters.
“We want freedom,” others chanted, according to the New York Times.
“Xi Jinping!” “Step down!” another group chanted back and forth, NYT reported.
China and the Communist Party are under international pressure to ease the &#8220;zero COVID&#8221; restrictions that have kept infections to a minimum but severely damaged China&#8217;s economy.
“Under the zero-COVID strategy, China weathered the initial impact of the pandemic well, allowing the economy to recover swiftly from the early-2020 lockdowns and to expand the global supply of medical goods and durable goods significantly at a critical time for the global economy,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/imf-to-china-drop-outdated-zero-covid-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Monetary Fund</a> First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a statement. “However, China’s growth has since slowed and remains under pressure amid recurring COVID outbreaks, deep challenges in the property sector, and slowing global demand.”

China COVID protest

Protests Against COVID Lockdowns Erupt Across China, Some Turn Violent

Even as health officials warn of a coming winter spike in COVID cases and the federal government urges millions of Americans to get a third booster, worry over the virus has dropped to just 28%, according to a new poll.
&#8220;Twenty-eight percent of Americans say they are &#8216;very&#8217; or &#8216;somewhat worried&#8217; they will get COVID — the lowest percentage Gallup has recorded since the summer of 2021,&#8221; Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/404963/worry-catching-covid-lowest-june-2021.aspx#:~:text=The%20latest%20findings,23%25%20in%20July." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>.
The latest findings also show a new high of Americans say they believe the pandemic is &#8220;over.&#8221; And the survey found 78% of Americans, the highest to date, think it&#8217;s best for Americans showing no symptoms to &#8220;lead their normal lives as much as possible and avoid interruptions to work and business.&#8221;
&#8220;The same poll finds the smallest percentages of Americans yet reporting they are steering clear of specific situations because of the coronavirus, including avoiding large crowds (24%), avoiding travel by plane or public transportation (19%), avoiding going to public places (16%) and avoiding small gatherings (13%),&#8221; Gallup reported. &#8220;Use of face masks remains fairly common, but the 40% saying they have worn one in the past week when outside their home is also a new low during the pandemic.&#8221;
In addition, Americans are no longer stringent about social distancing.
&#8220;About six in 10 Americans (59%) say they have made no attempt to isolate themselves from people outside their household in the past 24 hours — the most eschewing social distancing since the beginning of the pandemic,&#8221; the poll found. &#8220;Sixteen percent, similar to the level in April, now say they have completely or mostly isolated themselves from people outside their household, while 25% — the lowest reading since April 2020 — say they have isolated themselves partially or a little.&#8221;
The latest Gallup poll follows another one from last month that found more Democrats than Republicans think there is still a pandemic.
&#8220;Americans in all party groups have become more likely to say the pandemic is over since July, including increases of 12 points among Republicans, 14 points among Democrats and 10 points among independents,&#8221; Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/404696/pandemic-outlook-recovers-leaders-messaging-falters.aspx?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=o_social&amp;utm_term=gallupnews&amp;utm_content=60bb079a-4165-45ca-8ff2-cae3176f7d95">found.</a> &#8220;Independents also broadly agree that the situation is improving (62%). All three groups have roughly returned to the levels last seen in February and April after cases were down from the January surge in infections.&#8221;
&#8220;However, Republicans are the only party with a majority saying the pandemic is over. Republicans are more than three times as likely as Democrats to say this, at 73% vs. 21%, while 48% of independents agree. Despite the fact that Biden has said he believes the pandemic is over, a majority of his party&#8217;s faithful, 79%, do not concur.&#8221;
That&#8217;s right — in July, just 7% of Democrats thought the pandemic was &#8220;over.&#8221; And that number is still just 21% in November, even though President Joe Biden made a major declaration a couple of months ago.
“The pandemic is over,” Biden said in a “60 Minutes” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-shocks-white-house-by-declaring-pandemic-is-over-while-hundreds-of-americans-die-every-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> that aired September 18. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over.”
That confident assertion didn&#8217;t last long. The scaremongers in the White House, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the resident Debbie Downer, immediately walked back the statement.
&#8220;We are not where we need to be if we are going to quote, &#8216;live with the virus,'&#8221; Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the following day. &#8220;We still must be aware of how unusual this virus is and continues to be in its ability to evolve into new variants which defy the standard public health mechanisms of addressing an outbreak.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.
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Orange County Register Archive

What, Me Worry? Americans’ Concern Over COVID Drops To Just 28%, Poll Finds

What, Me Worry? Americans' Concern Over COVID Drops To Just 28%, Poll Finds

Gallup

Health

The majority of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19</a> deaths are now happening in people who are vaccinated, according to a new analysis.
An analysis carried out by Cynthia Cox, vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/23/vaccinated-people-now-make-up-majority-covid-deaths/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post’s Health 202</a>, found that 58% of coronavirus fatalities in August occurred in instances where the person was vaccinated against COVID-19 or had received a booster. The percentage has more than doubled since September of last year, when the number was 23%. According to the Post, vaccinated people made up 42% of coronavirus deaths in January and February of 2022.
“We can no longer say this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Cox told the outlet.
Even though vaccinated people are still passing away from COVID-19, the Post pointed to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis that appeared to show that people should still get their scheduled booster doses of the vaccine. The analysis <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/data-review/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>, “COVID-19 vaccines continued to reduce the risk of dying among all age groups, including older adults, with the most protection observed among people who have received [two or more] booster doses.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the president’s top medical advisor, recently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/22/fauci-final-white-house-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> his last COVID-19 briefing as he plans to retire next month. Republicans have voiced concerns over Fauci’s recommendations regarding pandemic policies and his potential connection to gain-of-function research in his career. They <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republicans-vow-investigate-fauci-steps-december/story?id=88741486" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promised</a> to investigate Fauci if they took control of Congress, which they did take control of the House in the midterm elections.
At the briefing, Fauci <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/22/fauci-last-press-briefing-covid">pressed</a> the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations.
&#8220;My final message — may be the final message I give you from this podium — is that, please for your own safety, for that of your family, get your updated COVID-19 shot as soon as you&#8217;re eligible, to protect yourself, your family and your community,&#8221; Fauci said.
When questioned over the hardest times during the pandemic, Fauci discussed observing people &#8220;not getting vaccinated for reasons that have nothing to do with public health, but have to do because of divisiveness and ideological differences.” 
&#8220;As a physician, it pains me because I don&#8217;t want to see anybody get infected, I don&#8217;t want to see anybody hospitalized, and I don&#8217;t want to see anybody die from COVID,&#8221; he said.
As of October 20, 80% of the U.S. population was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccinated</a>, while 68% were fully vaccinated, and 34% had gotten their boosters. Last year, the CDC also noted that sometimes booster shots are mischaracterized as an initial dose, which can throw off the numbers.
Still, many Americans do not wish to get vaccinated, despite the Biden administration’s pushes to do so, as well as their attempted COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

0FFB2382-A0AB-4AD1-96B4-B7287BF297A2_1_201_a

Report: Vaccinated Now Make Up Majority Of COVID Deaths

The Washington Post Report: Vaccinated Now Make Up Majority Of COVID Deaths 

COVID-19 Vaccine

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